According to a report released by the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Thursday, battery storage costs are expected to significantly decrease in the coming years, which will accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, crucial for achieving climate and energy goals.
Although renewable energy generation is already cheaper than coal and gas power plants, it often faces disruptions due to weather, such as with solar and wind power. Therefore, renewable energy must be used in conjunction with storage systems to provide a reliable energy source.
In the report titled “Batteries and Energy System Transformation,” the IEA points out that batteries can be combined with renewable energy to become a competitive, secure, and sustainable alternative technology, while also driving the decarbonization of road transport by powering electric vehicles.
Fatih Birol, the director of the IEA, stated that currently, the combination of solar power and batteries is more competitive than new coal-fired power plants in India, and in the coming years, it will be cheaper than coal-fired plants in China and gas power plants in the United States. Batteries are changing the game.
The report notes that thanks to cost reductions, innovation advances, and supportive industrial policies, battery costs have decreased by more than 90% in less than 15 years.
The most common type of battery is the lithium-ion battery, typically associated with transportation and consumer electronics. However, today, demand from the energy sector accounts for over 90% of total battery demand. Energy storage batteries can be made larger and heavier, offering greater scope for cost reduction.
In 2023 alone, the deployment of batteries in the power sector grew by more than 130% year-over-year, adding 42 gigawatts of power to the global electricity system. In the transportation sector, battery technology has driven electric vehicle sales from 3 million in 2020 to nearly 14 million last year, with further strong growth expected in the coming years.
Birol analyzed that the power and transportation sectors are two key pillars in rapidly reducing emissions to meet the targets agreed upon at COP28, and batteries are fundamental to the development of these sectors.
The report predicts that from now until 2030, the scale of battery deployment needs to be significantly expanded to set the world on the right path to achieving energy and climate goals. In this context, by 2030, the overall global storage capacity is expected to increase sixfold, with batteries accounting for 90% of this increase.
To promote batteries globally, costs need to be further reduced without compromising quality and technology. Ensuring energy security also requires a more diversified supply chain, including the extraction and processing of critical minerals used in batteries and the manufacturing of the batteries themselves.
Additionally, batteries play a crucial role in improving access to electricity, especially in regions where electricity is not yet widely available. Battery technology is key to achieving the 2030 global goal of universal electricity access, providing power access to approximately 400 million people in emerging and developing countries.
[Source – 上海有色网] IEA：电池正在改变游戏规则 对实现气候和能源目标至关重要 https://news.smm.cn/news/102728843
